View of the Ocean Ark. The developer of this offshore aquaculture vessel, Ocean Sovereign, has partnered with DNV to address challenges and innovations critical to business development in France.
Image: Ocean Sovereign / DNV.
Ocean Sovereign, the company behind the development of the offshore fish farming vessel Ocean Ark, will receive support from DNV to establish the regulatory framework necessary to meet local requirements in alignment with the rules and standards of the French authorities in order to sail under its flag.
In addition to its high-quality standards and being Europe's largest salmon market, France also has one of the world's largest maritime exclusive economic zones in the oceans, the ideal framework for such a structure to operate.
The Ocean Ark vessel is a patented advanced self-cleaning trimaran superstructure designed with low density to operate in drift with the natural current, helping to ensure the health and welfare of the fish, which will be kept in their natural habitat. Moreover, the offshore aquaculture superyacht is also designed to ensure sufficient safety for the environment and its crew.
Its offshore deployment will keep it away from marine heat waves, algal blooms, and storms, the three weak points of aquaculture. This way, by increasing fish welfare it will help produce higher-quality protein and increase global fish production without increasing pressure on fish stocks and coastal habitats.
Ocean Ark was designed according to Marpol, Solas, and IMO regulations. Now, following the agreement, DNV will support the developers, Ocean Sovereign, to solve business-critical challenges and innovations designed to prevent fish escapes and reduce the risk of technical failures in the operation.
The expert in assurance and risk management will provide the classification of the floating structure/vessel and marine systems, the certification of the mooring/dynamic positioning system, as well as that of aquaculture nets and systems, and the assessing operation and integrity controls during the design lifetime. All this, as mentioned, according to the standards established by France.
"DNV is proud to safeguard innovative technology to deliver sustainable seafood products to consumers," said Thomas Vogth-Eriksen, Global Aquaculture Director at DNV Supply Chain & Product Assurance, commenting on the agreement. "As a global leader in advancing the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of a range of ocean-based industries, we are particularly pleased to support knowledge-driven solutions that contribute to the sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector."
For his part, Ocean Sovereign General Manager Zeyd Fassi Fehri explained that offshore fish production is based on a combination of two well-known concepts, aquaculture, and marine technology, so a cross-industry approach and knowledge is needed to tackle a project like this of Ocean Ark.
"At Ocean Sovereign, we are happy to join forces with DNV and benefit from their knowledge gained through decades of experience in these two fields that will allow us to safely deploy the vessels," he stated. "We believe that DNV's extensive experience in offshore and fish farming will help us to play a key role in the deployment of our vessels under French Registration."
"As well as sustainability and fish welfare, the inclusion of local communities is embedded into every Ocean Sovereign project. The deployment of the Ocean Ark offers many synergies and growth opportunities for the existing local aquaculture and fishing sector," Zeyd Fassi Fehri continued. "To seize these opportunities, agreements have been reached with well-established French aquaculture and fishing stakeholders and will be released shortly," he concluded.
